


the lamp bearer

by septmars



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: Gen, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-25 23:45:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14988143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/septmars/pseuds/septmars
Summary: In a besieged city, a visit from a goddess.





	the lamp bearer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bardsley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bardsley/gifts).



With Mother bedridden, it fell upon Euanthes’s shoulder to do the nightly ritual. Father was away in a householder’s meeting, and Jason was with the rest of his friends in the guards, but even if they were here they would not be the one to do the ritual. This was a woman’s work, for this was a ritual dedicated to a goddess.

She’s already done the mandatory sacrifice and the purification ceremony. Now all there’s left to prepare is the ritual meal. Today it’s spiced lamb, taken directly from the dinner table. The choicest cut, meant for the head of household. Or a powerful goddess.

Euanthes gathered the ritual meal and took them outside. It was very dark, lighted only by a smattering of torchlights. There was no moonlight because of the new moon, and with Philip’s army looming, the council had decided to ration oil. Each family now only had enough to light one torch outside their house. Barely enough to light the streets.

But it was good enough for Euanthes. She placed the meal in the shrine outside of her house’s doorway, dedicated to tender-hearted Hecate. Euanthes poured honey to a small cup as a libation, closed her eyes, and offered a silent prayer. _Please protect us from the Macedons. Please keep Jason and Father safe if they go to war. Please let Aglaia have a safe birth._

Suddenly, the air grew colder. Euanthes shivered. In the distance she could hear the sounds of footsteps and howling dogs. She gathered her robe tighter around herself and turned on her heels.

Walking through the road was a woman in a saffron-coloured robe carrying a lamp and flanked by two dogs, black as the night. Euanthes was sure that she was not there a minute ago. The woman has a very odd quality to her. Her face was shrouded by the hood of her robe, which was far too large for her size.

For some reason, Euanthes couldn’t move. She was a hair’s breadth away from her house, a hair’s breadth away from safety, but she stayed rooted in her spot, transfixed by the woman.

The woman and her dogs stopped at Euanthes’s house.

“Good girl,” the woman said in the strangest accent. She spoke in an echoed whisper, the air seemingly rippling around her. Everything went very still. Even her dogs were unnaturally quiet. “You’ve done well to maintain this shrine.”

It was those words that made Euanthes finally realize who the woman was. The saffron robe. The lamp. The dogs.

She was Hecate, goddess of crossroads.

Euanthes’s knees went weak and she collapsed on the road. Her body trembled, and cold sweat trickled down her back. How do one go about meeting a goddess? Does this mean her time in this world is up? But she is not ready to leave yet.

“M-m-my lady,” Euanthes stammered, head bowed low until it nearly touched the ground. She dared not to look up.

“Don’t be afraid child,” Hecate said, in her whispery echo. “I mean no harm to you. Look at me.”

Still shaking, Euanthes did as she was bid and looked up. The three identical faces of Hecate was looking down at her. The goddess looked like an Athenian and had a kind look upon her face. Euanthes was reminded of her mother, blissfully unaware in her bed.

“Beyond that hill, Philip’s army awaits,” said Hecate, gesturing towards the mountains. “You Byzantines have been nothing but respectful and worshipful of me, and I intend to return the favour. I cannot interfere in a battlefield, for it is not my domain, but your city shall have my blessing. In a moment, the dogs will bark and I will light the sky with my lamp. They will be shining down on Philip’s army as if Dawn herself had come.”

“Many thanks for your present my lady!” Euanthes cried, bowing again to Hecate.

The goddess smiled, her face shining in the dark night.

“Euanthes,” she said. “You are a good girl. Look.”

Hecate raised her lamp. Her dogs began to howl, joined soon by many others in the city. The previously quiet night started to build towards a cacophony. Euanthes heard the bewildered grumbling of her neighbour Achaeus, going outside to see what’s causing all the commotion. She raised her eyes.

The sky was lit by the unnatural brightness of the morning star, illuminating the hill where Philip’s army was encamped. Euanthes knew now that they were saved. The council could not ignore this divine sign, and they would act swiftly to break the siege before it even happened. There was no need for Jason and Father to go to war. Euanthes turned to thank Hecate, but the goddess was already gone, leaving only a faint scent of myrrh and frankincense.

“Euanthes!” Achaeus cried. “What are you doing on the road? Come and look how bright Phosphoros is shining, at this time of the year too. This must be a good omen from the gods.”

“No.” Euanthes slowly raised herself up. “This is not a blessing from the gods. This is a blessing from Hecate Phosphorus herself, the lamp carrier!”

**Author's Note:**

> I based this fic on the lore that Hecate helped the Byzantines by lighting up the sky and illuminating Philip's army. I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
